Kona Craft Kitchen in Dublin a top-tier destination with great cocktails, resort vibe
Through a speaker on the small but nice patio of Kona Craft Kitchen, I heard Kurt Vile sing, “I am feeling much too many feelings/Simultaneously, at such a rapid clip,” in the offhand style of that quick-witted musician. This occurred amid rosy twilight while a knowledgeable and personable server whisked away dinnerware that had contained a bracing, delicious cocktail and a wonderful fish dish. Vile’s lyrics suddenly seemed on the nose.
Still, the title of that wistful Vile tune — “Wild Imagination'' — gave me pause days later. After more visits under different circumstances (once with a big group) and having very good experiences, albeit not as good as my first visit, I knew it wasn’t my wild imagination: Kona Craft Kitchen, 6757 Longshore Drive, Dublin, is a top-tier new restaurant.
Located in the Dublin Bridge Park development, Kona — whose Hawaiian name alludes to only one of its culinary influences — is versatile, too. Customers can show up for cafe fare such as fine Kona coffee ($4.50), house-baked pastries or a tricked-out, high-grade, totally scratch-made turkey sausage biscuit sandwich ($14 with a little fruit salad).
But casual-yet-stylish Kona — which is airy, spacious, multi-windowed, largely green-and-white and looks like it could be associated with a resort — really shines during lunch and dinner services. That’s partly because its cocktail program is among the best to premiere this year.
Every cocktail I sipped (most are $14) was bold, nuanced and refreshing. Many had garnishes like flowers or dehydrated fruit. Some highlights: Island Negroni — a brisk negroni slightly tweaked, not compromised, by coconut notes; Pina Fresca — think mildly more tropical spicy margarita; Beet Daze — beets and rum reigned in by citrus; Banana Hammock — a crisp little tiki-style beverage.
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Dishes likewise showcased good ingredients with attractive presentations and a restrained hand on secondary flavoring agents. Take, for instance, that aforementioned fish dish, pan-seared halibut ($37).
That’s a hefty price, but it purchased understated elegance largely composed in the green-and-white tones of Kona’s interior. My large hunk of fresh-tasting halibut had a golden-brown, coarse-salted crust that led to snow-white succulence complimented by a mild Thai-style green curry sauce, jasmine rice plus shredded snap peas and scallion curls.
Something flashier? The colorful banana-leaf-wrapped Gulf grouper ($37) with blistered tomatoes, pineapple salsa, grilled squash slices and Yucatan-style accents was huge, healthful and delicious, too.
Fried calamari can seem like a “been there, done that” dish until you get a really good version of it like Kona served ($13). Bonus: The crinkly dusted, super-tender squid came with an addictively zippy citrus aioli.
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Another bonus: that calamari and all other appetizers plus Kona’s destination-worthy cocktails are half-priced during a great happy hour (3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday). Other half-off appetizers I sampled were (happy-hour prices are provided): salmon rillettes ($8) — buttery, addictive and French by way of stellar California-based chef Thomas Keller’s renowned preparation; salmon poke ($8.50) — solid but less memorable than other seafood dishes here; chips and queso ($5) — good tortilla chips, far-above-average cheese dip dense with chicken chorizo.
Among never-discounted items, the garnish-happy smash burger ($14 for two patties and shoestring fries) and — when ordered medium-rare — the lean but flavorful blackened hanger steak ($27 with charred-corn salsa and grilled squashes) show Kona can handle beef nicely, too. The Mexican-ish, appealingly plated Island Salad ($11) — tender butter lettuce, fanned-out avocado, multicolored heirloom tomatoes, jalapeno and just-enough charred lime vinaigrette — demonstrated an aptitude with garden ingredients.
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Everything wasn’t perfect. Some dishes veered toward salty. During that group visit, we experienced a long wait between starters and mains, and a tablemate’s halibut was notably smaller than the one I’ve raved about.
But with its already mentioned strong attributes, food-friendly (if moderate-sized) wine list and desserts such as sticky toffee pudding ($11), only a wild imagination could envision this impressive newcomer getting off to a much better start.
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Kona Craft Kitchen
Where: 6757 Longshore Drive, Dublin
Contact: 614-502-5400, www.konacraftkitchen.com
Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays
Price range: $10 to $39
Ambience: casual and bright, stylish and roomy, largely green-and-white eatery with abundant natural light, a nice patio and generally excellent service
Children's menu: yes
Reservations: yes
Accessible: yes
Liquor license: full bar
Quick click: Operating as a cafe, bakery and strong-performing resort-like cocktail lounge and restaurant, this versatile newcomer is one of the more impressive places to open this year.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kona Craft Kitchen in Dublin a new top-tier dining establishment
